REDWOLVES NOTEBOOK: Florence holding steady despite economic woes

FLORENCE — Like most businesses, the Florence RedWolves are feeling the effects of a weakened economy. But not as much as you’d expect, which bodes well for baseball in Florence.
“Sponsor-wise, we’re probably down 20-25 percent from last year,” RedWolves general manager Jamie Young was saying during Tuesday’s media day. “Some of the first things companies tend to cut back on in a bad economy are the advertising/marketing budgets. The good news is the folks who had to cut back this year say they’ll be back on board when the economy picks up again.“
With sponsorships down, the RedWolves hope to offset the lost revenue by getting more fans through the gate at Legion Field.
Ticket and concession prices are unchanged from a year ago. Box seats are $6, general admission seats are $5, tickets for ages 10-and-under and seniors are $4 and tickets purchased with a military ID are $3.
In addition to those low ticket prices, the RedWolves have several promotional nights with discounted tickets for youth and $1 beverages.
“We’re still a good inexpensive family-type thing to do,” Young said. “Attendance seemed to spike when gas prices were around $4 a gallon last summer. People weren’t going out of town as much, so they were coming here.
“Like everybody else, we’re hoping the economy turns around. But studies have shown that affordable minor-league sports flourish even when the economy is bad.”
Florence drew 1,765 fans for a win over Fayetteville in its home opener Thursday night. Another solid crowd of 2,315 attended Saturday night’s game against Thomasville, which featured a pre-game parachute team and post-game fireworks.
The RedWolves being 3-0 going into that game probably helped attendance as well.
“The No. 1 factor of people coming to games is for the team to play good ball,” Young said. “I think people are excited about the product we’re putting on the field and other things we’re doing out here.”

Eye on the draft
Barrett Kleinknecht is one of a handful of RedWolves who will be listening for his name to be called during the Major League Baseball draft June 9-11.
“If my name is called, I’m going to go,” Kleinknecht said during Tuesday’s media day. “All I want is a shot. I think it’s time.”
The West Florence product would forgo his senior season at Francis Marion. This spring for the Patriots, Kleinknecht batted .372 with team highs in doubles (16), home runs (9) and RBI (64).
Last summer, Kleinknecht hit .290 with 12 doubles, a team-high five homers and 28 RBI to help the RedWolves to a runner-up finish in the Coastal Plain League’s Petitt Cup tournament.
“I talked with about eight (major league) teams in the fall and a couple scouts came to watch some games, but I haven’t heard much else,” Kleinknecht said. “If I don’t hear my name called, I’m probably going to be kind of bummed. There’s always next year, though.
“The Coastal Plain League is a great league to be in to get used to swinging the wooden bat, so I’m just having a great time playing right now. I’m not too worried about all the other things.”
If Kleinknecht is taken in the draft, he’s anticipating a position change from shortstop. He played third base at West Florence and played third one season at the College of Charleston. He moved to short at Florence-Darlington Tech in 2008 and played short at Francis Marion in the spring.
“If I get a shot to play pro ball, I’ll do whatever. Third base, catcher, first base — whatever somebody would want me to do in the minor leagues, I’d do,” Kleinknecht said. “I think I’ve just been kind of filling a void at shortstop for Tech and Francis Marion, but most people say they see me as a corner guy.
“I enjoyed playing third in high school, so hopefully I can get back there.”

Where’s Wes?
During the college season, RedWolves coach Wes Davis serves as an assistant with Oral Roberts University. He’s still with the Golden Eagles, who defeated Cal Poly 13-3 at the NCAA regional in Tempe, Ariz., Friday night and were scheduled to play Arizona State last night.
“We’ve been talking to Wes about an hour each day,” said RedWolves assistant coach Andrew Noble, who’s serving as interim head coach. “We’re letting him know how things are going and giving him feedback on the guys, and he’s letting us know what he expects
“Even though he’s not here, we’re talking back and forth and trying to figure things out together.”

Trying to adjust
Francis Marion outfielder Austin Smetana is hitless in six at bats for the RedWolves. He’s been hit by a pitch and struck out three times.
In seven games with the RedWolves last summer, Smetana batted .095 (2-for-21) with an RBI. He walked twice and struck out 10 times.
This spring at FMU, Smetana hit .244 (11-for-45) with a home run and seven RBI. He walked four times and struck out 13 times.
“Hitting with wood is a little different (than hitting with metal),” said Smetana, a West Florence product. “You have to focus on getting the bat head through the zone. You have to really try to square the ball up and hit it hard somewhere.
“You can’t let yourself get frustrated. You just have to try to make adjustments.”

Daddy’s boy
Cameron White, son of The State columnist Neil White, is an outfielder with the Columbia Blowfish.
In a 5-2 season-opening loss to the RedWolves on Wednesday night, White played left field and was 1-for-3 with a two-run single, a walk and two strikeouts. He also had a throwing error.
Going into Saturday night, White was batting .286 (2-for-7) for the Blowfish. For Catawba College in the spring, he batted .349 (30-for-86) with six doubles, a triple, five homers and 12 RBI.
The RedWolves host White and the Blowfish on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.